30-01-24
The recent Hong Kong film The Goldfinger (金手指) is a 2023 film written and directed by Felix Chong (莊文強), and staring 2 Hong Kong superstars Tony Leung (梁朝偉) and Andy Lau (劉德華).
Some expected to be a very exciting action crime thriller. They are wrong. The film turns out to be a nostalgic and heartrending biography of the most notorious swindler in the 1970s and 80s. It is also a tale of episodes depicting the vanished years of Hong Kong when money could buy anything and the pursuit of voluptuous life had corrupted the whole society.
The story is well-known. In the 1970s: a Malaysian man who had nothing came to look for money opportunities in Hong Kong. Within a few years, he, by dishonest means, became a Mr Moneybags. His improper schemes were finally unmasked and this scoundrel was put in jail. Incident to the long and complicated saga, 3 men i.e. the lawyer, the accountant and the judge who acquitted the scoundrel during the first trial mysteriously died. Up to now, nobody has been found responsible for the ghastful deaths.
Murder mysteries are puzzles that are fun to resolve. The film The Goldfinger however did not attempt to resolve ‘whodunit’ and in fact is quite distanced from the crime truth. It may want the audience to speculate the truth by themselves. This is why some audience were disappointed because this murder movie, unlike those of Agatha Christie, did not make the ‘Q&A’ neatly wound up at the end of the story.
From indulgent nightlife to lavish parties, the film depicts the heyday of Hong Kong in the 1970s and 80s, when money could be easily made from the newly flourishing stock market. The film also foreshadows the economic doom that would follow. Businessmen, lawyers, accountants and bankers all looked happy but ‘everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.’ Regrets were before these people became criminals or after they became ghost.
This great film is loved by me because it is about the good old days, or bad old days, that I actually went through when I was young. It might be loved by me for nostalgic reasons, but in any event, I have a high opinion of the work because the film is sincere, well-prepared and well-produced with meticulous artistic care. Actors like Tony Leung, Andy Lau and Simon Yam (任達華) are extremely glittering and their acting is impressively successful.
This wonderful film makes us feel like we have journeyed with the story and characters. Some said film is a dream. I would say film can also be a reality which is an emotional echo forcing us to remember and think. I recommend The Goldfinger to anyone who is looking for a good movie to watch.
Creativity takes courage and I am proud that Felix Chong has the guts to do a not really commercial film.
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